Toot's Book Reviews: Guest Post/Interview & Giveaway : AROUSE (Spiral of Bliss #1) by Nina Lane (CR)

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Book Blurb

"One day I'm going to touch you in a thousand different ways and show you how to touch me," he said.

And he did.

Struggling with a tormented past, undergraduate Olivia Winter once led a practical but isolated life. Then she met Professor Dean West, a brilliant scholar of medieval history who melted Liv's inhibitions and taught her the meaning of both love and erotic pleasure. But after three years of a blissful, lusty marriage, Liv and Dean now face a crisis that threatens everything they believe about each other...and sex might not be enough to save them.

Purchase Links

Amazon - for those interested in purchasing the book, it's on sale for $.99

B&N: after May 1st

Goodreads

Guest Post / Interview

1.Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m originally from California and have been writing for as long as I can remember. I have a PhD in Art History and an MA in Library Sciences, which says something about how many years I spent in graduate school and what a bookworm I am. I’ve been fortunate enough to have traveled quite a bit and would still love to do more. I collect children’s picture books. I’m a mom of two children, and my husband is an atmospheric scientist. Which means I always blame him if the weather is not what I’m expecting it to be. I prefer being indoors rather than outdoors. I watch very little TV, but wish I had more time to catch up on movies. I am not crafty, but I admire people who are. I like yoga. I love popcorn.

2. Do you have a day job as well?

Writing is my day job, with being a mom coming in a close second.

3. How did you choose the genre you write in?

I started writing romance when I was an undergraduate at UCLA, and one day I was working at a bookstore when I saw a shelf full of Black Lace books (“erotica for women by women”), and I thought I’d try to write one. The book was accepted on proposal, and I wrote a few more erotica novels before realizing that I also missed the romance part. So I went back to romances for awhile, and then found ways to incorporate the two genres.

4. How did you come up with the name of the series as well as the names of the books?

AROUSE, ALLURE, and AWAKEN were the titles from the very start —which I figured outwith the help of my wonderful critique partners. I wanted punchy, evocative titles that conveyed the progression of the characters’ relationships. “Spiral of Bliss” came from the novels themselves, as that is what Liv and Dean create together. Often!

5. Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?

Everything in the book is completely from my active little imagination (aside from real-life places like the University of Wisconsin).

6. Is there a message in your novels that you want readers to walk away with? If so, what is it?

I don’t think there’s a message so much as the hope that readers walk away feeling like they were immersed in another life for a while. I’ve always liked the JD Salinger quote from Catcher in the Rye: “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.” I’d love it if people felt that way after reading one of my books.

7. Is there a question you'd love someone to ask you, but they haven't? If so, what is it, and how would you answer it?

I can’t think of one! Everyone’s questions have been so interesting and thought-provoking that I can’t match them.

8. Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

There are so many! Most of the books that had a strong impact on me are from my childhood—the Little House books, Anne of Green Gables, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I love stories about girls who are seeking a path in life and trying to understand both themselves and the world around them. My character Liv is a lot like that.

9. You've been given the task to host a last minute dinner party. Which authors are on your ultimate dinner invitation list? Alive or Dead.

I probably wouldn’t invite too many so the conversation wouldn’t get overwhelming. But the ultimate list would include Shakespeare, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Dr. Seuss, Tolstoy, Betty Smith, J.D. Salinger, Maurice Sendak, and Gillian Flynn.

10. Describe your hero from your book in THREE words

Protective, strong, intelligent.

11. What is the best personality trait of your heroine? Worst personality trait?

I think Liv’s best trait is her resilience, even though she often doesn’t even realize her own inner strength. Her worst trait is her lack of belief in herself, but in a way that’s good because it gives her something to work for.

12. Give us the 140 character TWEET description of your book.

Hot, sexy professor and his lovely wife face damaging betrayals and temptations as they fight to regain their sizzling passion and love.

13. Name one thing your heroine would not leave home without.

Rubber bands to tie her hair back into a ponytail.

14. What would the theme song be for your book?

Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars,” which is a song that epitomizes everything Liv and Dean are to each other. It’s like a song of their relationship and how they have shut the world out and chosento focus only on each other.

Author Info

Nina Lane is a multi-published author of elegant, romantic and often raunchy erotica. Her recent release AROUSE is the first book in the Spiral of Bliss series, and her novel THE EROTIC DARK is a #1 Amazon erotica bestseller.

Nina used to write novels under the name Natasha Rostova and has published stories in anthologies such as “Best Women’s Erotica” and “Erotic Travel Tales.” Her work has been translated into both German and Japanese. In addition to writing, she's an avid reader who loves popcorn and has recently joined a workout boot-camp that is kicking her rear end.

Author Links

Website: http://ninalane.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NinaLaneAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NinaLaneAuthor

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5785925.Nina_Lane

~Giveaway~